Heaven's Got a Plan: The Magic of Christmas
by r2roswell
Summary: Takes place 6 weeks after my tragic story, "Cracks in the Sky". The Christmas season has arrived and Beckett is without her better half or is she? Beckett's life is turned upside down when her husband comes back into her life. But is Castle's return some part of a master grand plan, a Christmas miracle, or just a figment of her mind and Beckett not wanting to let him go?
1. Ghost of You

**Chapter 1.) Ghost of You**

* * *

Six weeks of leave. That's how long it had been since Detective Beckett had her twins, a boy named Jameson (Jamie) Alexander Castle and a girl named Johanna (Joan) Nichole Castle. Jamie had been born at 5 pounds 8 ounces while Joan had been slightly bigger at 6 pounds 2 ounces.

At the same time it had been close to ten months since her husband's death.

During those six weeks of leave the Thanksgiving holiday had come and gone. It had been difficult on Beckett and her family. Jim had been over for the holiday and even stayed a while. Beckett had been more than grateful to have her father around and have him spend time with his grandkids, Alexis included, but she couldn't help but feel the sadness of Castle not being around.

Now six weeks later on December 12th, Beckett placed her blue gloves as she stood in the home of Elian and Morena Moreno. Morena was dead in the kitchen while Elian lay dead on the couch in the living room.

"No signs of forced entry," said Beckett.

Lanie looked up, "Well look whose back."

"You just saw me two weeks ago."

"Yes at the loft. This is different, this is work."

"So what can you tell me about our vics?"

Lanie showed some bruising on Elian's face. There was also bruising on his fists, particularly his knuckles where some skin was scraped off from punching something.

"He fought back," said Beckett.

"Looks like it," said Lanie. "Until your perp finally shut him up," she said indicating the bullet hole to the gut.

"Any chance of getting DNA off his fingers or knuckles?"

"It's a long shot but I'll see what I can find."

"And what about our female vic?"

The two women stood and made their way to the kitchen where Morena was laying on the floor in front of the stove.

"She's a bit more brutal," said Lanie. "From what we can gather Morena must have heard the commotion in the living room then come back her trying to defend herself."

Beckett took a look at the scene. Utensils were scattered on the counter, plates broken on the floor and a hot pot on the floor next to Morena's leg which showed a bad burn.

"No gunshot wound," Beckett noticed, "Two different suspects?"

"Hard to tell, won't know for sure until I get them both on my table."

"This clearly wasn't a break in," Ryan said coming into the room. "Welcome back Beckett."

"And the girls aren't talking," said Espo.

Beckett turned to him. "There were kids in the house when this happened?"

Esposito looked at his notes. "Yeah, two girls: Ximena age nine and Ariadna age four."

The front door opened quickly. A cop was trying to stop a young woman from entering.

"Mom, dad," she cried out!

* * *

Beckett waved off the uniform to let the girl through, recognizing her and the boy from the family photos in the house. Melina and her brother, Thiago, came through but the Beckett placed herself in front of them so they wouldn't see the rest of the carnage.

"I'm Detective Kate Beckett. You guys, let's go talk in the other room okay?"

Melina nodded and the three went into her dad's office.

"Can you tell me your names," Beckett asked.

"Melina," said the girl. "This is my brother Thiago."

"Ty," he corrected.

"He hates his Mexican name. What happened to our parents?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out. Can you tell me where the two of you were tonight?"

Ty got defensive. "I've seen those cop shows, you think we killed them?"

Lina hit her brother's arm. "They have to ask that." She turned to the detective and answered, "My Friday class got cancelled. My mom was so excited. She was waiting for me to help put up the tree."

"And you go to college?"

Lena nodded. "Sophomore year at Walden U."

"What about you Ty?"

"A buddy of mine and I were skateboarding at the park. His brother texted me."

"These friends of yours do they have a name?"

"Ryan and Mitchell Whitmore. They live down at the end of the street from here."

"I'll need an address."

Ty sighed but gave it anyways.

"Detective," said Lena, "the cops outside said our sisters were here. Can we go see them?"

Beckett nodded. She still had a lot more questions but it was getting late and she knew how important it was for the siblings to be together.

"Is there some place you can go, a family member, a friend?"

"Don't worry about it," said Lena. "I'll take care of it."

Lena walked away with her brother behind.

* * *

_"I can't imagine what that must be like," she heard him say._

_Beckett closed her eyes and smiled. She silently replied in thought._

_"It's never easy. It still isn't."_

_"I'm sorry," said Castle._

_"Yeah well you can stop apologizing. I've stopped being mad at you."_

_"Since when?"_

_"Since our kids were born but I'm still mad at you for dying."_

_"That I never expect you to forgive me for. Kate, if it had been up to me I would have stayed with you, you know that right?"_

_"So you keep saying but what if there is no master plan, what if it's just one big cosmic mess?"_

_"Hey there's a plan, I know it."_

_Beckett turned to look at him. "But how do you know," she asked, still through her thoughts._

_"I can't tell you that but if there wasn't one, I wouldn't be here with you."_

_Beckett couldn't help but smile and be grateful for that at least._

_"Okay so what's our next move? Those kids just lost their parents before Christmas. We have to fix this."_

_Beckett paused for a moment and thought, "Oh no, there is no 'we'. There is just me and my partners who are still breathing."_

_"I'm still breathing, technically."_

_"I mean the partners I can see."_

_"You can see me," he said with a smile._

_"Are you going to turn everything I say into a technicality?"_

_"If it will get you to partner with me then yes."_

_"I mean it Castle, stay out of this one."_

_Castle smiled that smirk of his. "Now you only think you mean it but every time you've wanted me to stay in the car or not get involved I only end up doing what I do anyways and we save the world together."_

Beckett shook her head. There was never any winning with him. She couldn't explain it. Castle had been dead for nearly ten months but ever since their twins had been born she had heard him in her mind and seen him in her dreams, on the rare occasions it was like she could see him as clearly as she could see Ryan and Esposito talking in the next room. It was almost as if he had never left.

Beckett told no one of this. She had come to the conclusion that it was part of her grief. She had read the books, she had listened to her friends, had listened to her shrink. It was completely normal to hear a deceased loved one as a way of being reminded of the sound of their voice or what they looked like. Those things tended to fade in time.

What was not normal was that Castle still seemed to be helping. Beckett tried to convince herself that it was just her own mind projecting how he would act and what he would say. Of course this version of Castle knew those thoughts too which would leave her feeling guilty for thinking about that way of logic in the first place.

"Yo Beckett," Esposito said taking her out of her thoughts with Castle. "You coming?"

Beckett nodded to her boys.


	2. Where Are You Christmas?

**Author's Note: **_As in the first chapter, all Beckett/Castle apparition-talk scenes will be in italics._

* * *

**Chapter 2.) Where Are You Christmas?**

* * *

The following morning Beckett had slept in. The twins, Jamie really, had been keeping her up all night. She had changed him, fed him, and burped him but nothing was working. Sometimes babies just needed to cry and it didn't matter to them for how long or what time it was so she stayed with him, Jamie lying on her chest as she reclined in the rocker, the music of Bon Iver playing softly in the background. Beckett was well rounded when it came to music but she had never been one for the New Age kind of stuff. She found out that Bon Iver was the only music that seemed to calm her and the unborn twins down when she was pregnant with them.

By 7 AM Beckett had placed Jamie back in his crib and then gotten an hour of sleep herself in her bed until she heard movement outside her bedroom door.

After taking a quick shower and getting dressed for the day she found Martha attempting to cook and Alexis helping but that wasn't what bothered her. What bothered her was seeing crates around the room and decorations out of boxes and the stand for a tree.

"What's all this," Beckett asked.

"It's December fifteenth," said Alexis as if the date were supposed to mean anything. "Dad and I always set up the apartment by December first but with studying for finals and school ending for winter break yesterday I hadn't had the time. I'm surprised you would forget."

Beckett swallowed. "I didn't forget."

Alexis looked puzzled. "I don't understand, then why didn't you get the Christmas stuff out?"

Beckett's mind was elsewhere to the first Christmas she had spent with Castle as a couple. She had gotten Karpowski to cover her shift so that she could spend the holiday with her boyfriend. When she arrived Castle had been on his way out to be with her. The two ended up in front of the big Christmas tree, staring at it and at each other. Beckett had spent the evening with him and his family as well as spent Christmas Eve and Christmas day with them as well.

Castle had fibbed that he hadn't gotten her a present but in fact he had, it had been under the tree in the far back in case Beckett was serious about her plans for Christmas. One of the gifts had been a necklace with an elephant shaped pendant and the other had been a drawer in his bedroom.

Martha looked at Beckett, familiar with the lost little girl look in her eyes and then patted Alexis' hand.

"You don't want to celebrate Christmas do you," Alexis asked figuring it out.

"I can't," Beckett admitted.

"Just because dad's gone doesn't mean our lives have to stop."

"They're not stopping Alexis I just need time. You know how hard Thanksgiving was."

"It's always going to be hard," Alexis said getting upset. "Dad's gone and I miss him like crazy too but we can't put our lives on hold whenever something bad happens. You should know that better than anyone. You changed your life when your mom died and then when you got shot you avoided dad because of the feelings you had for him and he had for you."

"I'm not putting anything on hold. I just think it's best to take a break for a while until I'm ready to deal with everything that's happened."

"And what about us? What about me and Joan and Jamie?"

Beckett knew she was being selfish. It wasn't fair to all three of her kids or to Martha to cancel the holidays but she couldn't change how she felt either.

Alexis saw the look on her step-mom's face knowing she wouldn't change her mind but before anyone could say anything Beckett's cell rang. She ignored it.

"You know what," said Alexis, "That's fine. If you want to go back to being the person you were before you met dad then go right ahead."

"Alexis," said Martha.

But Alexis wasn't done, "Do what you want, you're not my real mom anyways. I wish she were here instead of you. At least she would honor my dad's memory instead of ignoring it."

Alexis slammed the door and as she left Beckett's cell rang again and Joan began crying upstairs.

"I'll get her," said Martha, "You should get that," she said indicating to Beckett's cell.

"It's okay, I've got it." Beckett sighed and turned to Martha before making her way up. "She's right you know? It's not fair to any of you. I just don't think I can do this."

"Now you listen to me Katherine Houghton Beckett Castle," Martha said taking hold of her daughter-in-law's hands. "It's okay. I don't expect the holidays to be easy. I never have. You could barely hold it together over Thanksgiving. So if you can't hold it together now that's okay. We can always double up next year. Alexis will understand, she just has to deal with this in her own way, like all of us are doing."

Joan continued crying.

"Thank you Martha. I should go check on my girl."

"What about work?"

"I want to make sure my kids are okay first."

Martha nodded and Beckett made her way upstairs to the nursery.

* * *

She checked on Jamie who was awake but not making a fuss so she patted him softly and smiled. "Go back to sleep buddy," she whispered.

She then went over to Joan's crib who was still crying loudly.

She picked up her daughter. There was no bad smell so she didn't need to be changed and she had been fed before six. The slamming of the door must have scared her.

"You're okay sweetie, you're okay."

Castle smiled as he stood near Beckett.

_"You're so beautiful with her," he whispered._

_"I'm so sorry Castle."_

_"It's okay."_

_"No it's not okay."_

_"Beckett I get it. The holidays are tough. First your mom, now me. I wish I could make it better for you."_

_"So do I. I want to celebrate for the kids sake but I-,"_

_"Shh, you don't have to explain anything to me."_

_"I can't do it this year Castle. I'm sorry."_

_"I know."_

_Castle placed a hand on his wife's shoulder trying to offer what kind of solace he could to her but he knew it would never be enough and it pained him like it pained her. What was even harder on him was that because of what he was, a spirit, an apparition or whatever energy the universe turned him into, he could feel every ounce of what Beckett was feeling. As an energy source he could feel the energies around him and none hit him harder than Beckett's because she was the one he was destined to be with so it made her emotions that much stronger, he was bound to her in a way he hadn't been with his other ex-wives and that bind only made it that much more difficult for him to be away yet as her guardian angel or what have you, he couldn't leave because of it._


	3. A Child's Help

_Author's Note:_ I appologize for the long wait for the new chapter. I had writer's block and still do but was able to get chapters 3 and 4 done. And then things had been crazy because I was finishing up school. Hope you all enjoy the next chapters.

If I didn't mention it before, all scenes in italics are scenes with Castle's ghost or Beckett talking to Castle's ghost.

* * *

**Chapter 3.) A Child's Help**

* * *

"Yo where've you been," Esposito asked as Beckett came to her desk.

"The twins had a rough night," Beckett said not explaining that it was also a rough morning.

"Let me guess, Jamie," said Esposito.

Beckett smiled. Her partners had known her kids personalities just as well as she and her family did.

"So where we at," she said directing her attention to the murder board.

It was pretty empty except for a few pictures, two of which were their victims.

"Footprints were found at the scene so Ryan is running them down now."

Beckett studied her victims. "So how do two seemingly descent parents get killed in their own home will two of their kids were upstairs?"

_"And if the perp knew the family was home," she heard Castle say, "Why not kill them too?"_

_Beckett thought, 'I told you to stay out of this one.'_

_Castle laughed, "Yeah like that was going to happen."_

"That's a good point though," Beckett said aloud.

"What is," asked Esposito.

She turned to look at him.

_"Busted," said Castle with a huge grin._

"Just something I was thinking," said Beckett, "There was no forced entry so our perp must have known the Moreno's and with that in mind he-,"

_"Or she," said Castle._

"Must have known the kids were home too so why not kill them too."

"Maybe he didn't want to waste time looking for anyone. He wanted the people who gave him easy access. Had he waited around to look to see if anyone in the house there was more of a chance of being caught," said Esposito.

"Maybe so but it would also make sense to kill all the witnesses so that he couldn't be identified." Beckett switched topics, "What do we have on the parents?"

Esposito looked over his notes, "Elian was a professor in biology at Hudson U. Morena was a pediatric surgeon at Mercy General."

"And the kids aren't talking?"

"Not a word."

Beckett looked at the four of the Moreno kids in the family room. "Okay I'll see if I can get anything out of them. You and Ryan see if anyone had any problems with the parents. They let this guy in so they must have known him."

"On it," said Esposito.

"Ryan anything on the prints?" Beckett called over.

"I've got it down to shoe size and model but do you have any idea how many size 13 New Balance brand running shoes are sold every day?"

Beckett knew that was a long shot. She nodded. "Go with Espo and see if you can get a lead on the people in their lives."

* * *

With the boys gone, Beckett made her way to the kids. She introduced herself and took a seat across from them. Ty was seated on the arm rest while the girls were seated on the couch, Ari was tightly holding on to Lena.

The younger ones still weren't talking so Lena introduced them as Ximena and Ariadna. They went by Jimmie and Ari.

Beckett smiled, "Those are pretty names."

Only Ari smiled.

"Our grandparents are from Mexico," Lena explained. "So our parents wanted to stay true to the culture."

"Well they're very beautiful. You guys I have to ask you some important questions. The more we know the more we can help you."

"I wasn't there," said Ty, "So I don't know anything."

"There are other ways you can help."

"Like what?"

"Do any of you know of anyone who may have wanted to hurt your parents?"

They all shook their heads to indicate no.

"Everyone loved our mom and dad," said Lena.

"Not true," Ty combated.

"Ty do you know something?" Beckett asked.

Ty just shrugged. "People always have something to be unhappy about. Not everyone likes everyone. People suck pure and simple," he said keeping his arms crossed.

"Ty," Lena scolded, "Watch your language."

"You're not mom," he said getting up angrily, "I sure as hell don't have to listen to you," he said storming out of the room.

Ari hugged Lena tighter.

Lena shook her head, "I'm sorry Detective. He's usually not like this."

"He's a sixteen year old boy who just lost his parents. You can't expect him to get over something like this overnight."

"Do you know that from your job as a cop or personal experience?"

"A little of both," Beckett admitted, "I lost my mom when I was about your age."

"You did," Jimmie said for the first time, her voice cracking slightly as she tried not to cry.

"Yeah," Beckett said smoothly, "I did."

"How did she die?" asked Lena.

"She was murdered like your mom and dad."

"Did you ever catch the guy?"

"To a point but my mom never really got justice. I want to catch the person who did this to your parents but I can't do it alone. Ari, Jimmie, is there anything you can remember, anything at all?"

Lena looked at her sisters and smiled. Her younger sisters turned to Beckett.

"I got scared," said Ari, "I wet my pants."

"When the yelling started," said Jammie, "I got Ari and we hid under some dirty clothes I had in my closet. I covered Ari's mouth so she wouldn't call out. It's scary when adults fight."

"It is scary. Do your parents fight a lot?"

This time Lena answered the question. "As much as any other couple I suppose but it never escalates. Usually after they're done there's an uncomfortable silence between them that can last a few days but it doesn't get physical or violent."

"Do you know who was yelling?"

"It was a man. He had a deep voice," said Jimmie.

"It's all your fault!" said Ari, "He said that. I remember 'cause those were the loudest words."

"And you don't know who it was?"

The girls shook their head to indicate no.

"Do you guys know who they could have invited in to the house?"

"Mommy and daddy know a lot of people," said Ari.

"Knew," Jimmie corrected.

Beckett saw a look of recognition in Lena's eyes.

"Lena?"

"There might have been someone," said Lena. "Can I tell you in the hall?"

"Sure," Beckett said and then turned her attention to the younger ones, "You both did really good."

Ari smiled at the credit she was given.

* * *

Once Lena and Beckett were out near Beckett's desk she looked at the young woman.

"You might want to check out the McConnell's," said Lena. "Patrick and Cynthia I think."

"And they were close to your parents?"

"Not exactly," she said, "They were the ones who filed a malpractice suit against my mom. She and my dad tried to keep the details from us but from what my mom told me, the couple had a premature baby and it needed surgery but it died on the table. She didn't go into the why or how of it, not even to me."

"That's actually very helpful thank you."

"Detective, can I ask you something? I can take care of myself but Ty is only a sophomore in high school and the others aren't even in middle school yet so what's going to happen them?"

"That's what social services will have to decide. For now they'll be placed in a group home."

"No!" Ty said behind Beckett, "You can't split us up!"

"We might not have a choice," said Lena.

"Yes you do! You're nineteen you can take us."

"Ty you don't know what you're asking," said Lena.

"Sure I do. Look I'll stop being a pain in the ass. I can help. I can get a job. Just don't split us up Detective, please."

"That's not up to me, Ty," said Beckett.

"Then talk to whoever is."


	4. Malpractice or Murder?

**Chapter 4.) Malpractice or Murder?**

* * *

_"That was pretty rough back there," Castle said sitting in his usual shotgun seat._

_'They usually are,' Beckett said aloud now that she was completely alone._

_"You're going to keep them together though right?"_

_"Castle you know that's not up to me."_

_"Still you're going to try at least," he said with certainty. "It's what you do, next to honoring the victims you make sure the families are taken care of."_

They arrived at a condo complex on the higher end upper west side. Beckett ringed the doorbell and waited.

_"So a very rich family sues the surgeon for their baby's death," said Castle. "What's supposed to be a very unpleasant civil matter turns into something more deadly when the husband begins to feel that the case isn't enough anymore. He wants the ultimate revenge. You took away my child, I take you."_

_"As nice of a theory as that is," Beckett now said in thought, "We both it's never that simple. If that's all it was why not just kill the person he was suing? Why go after the husband and why leave the kids unharmed?"_

_"Yeah I'm gonna have to think on that a bit."_

A man in his mid forties opened the door.

"Can I help you," he asked.

"Patrick McConnell?"

"Yeah?"

Beckett raised her shield. "I'm Detective Beckett. May I have a word?"

* * *

"Murdered," Cynthia said a few moments later when the three of them, four if you included Castle's apparition, were in the family room.

"I understand you had an issue with Dr. Morena Moreno."

"You're referring to the lawsuit," said Pat.

"I am. Can you tell me what it was about?"

"Our daughter died detective," Pat said holding his wife's hand. "We probably shouldn't go into the specifics without a lawyer."

"I can always come back with a subpoena."

"Then you do that," Pat said harshly.

"No, you don't have to," said Cynthia. "You're trying to find out who killed her right, this isn't about our case?"

"No it's not," Beckett assured them.

Pat shook his head, "Not that we have one now anyways now that that goddamn bitch is dead."

Cynthia ignored her husband's comment, "Simple fact is she cut something that she shouldn't have."

It was a lot more complicated than that however. The infant had a disorder known as achalasia in which foods and liquids had a difficult time reaching the stomach. It had been discovered shortly after Kelly's birth when Cynthia noticed on a couple times breast feeding that Kelly wasn't swallowing the milk. Mercy General being a teaching hospital, an intern had perforated the thinner wall in the infants' esophagus causing uncontrollable bleeding during the Laparoscopic Esophageal Myotomy.

Pat continued from Cynthia's statement, "Dr. Moreno said that the surgery was her best chance, said it was a routine procedure but when it came down to it she failed. She had been up for over forty-eight hours straight."

"And instead of getting another surgeon equal to her to do the job, she let her intern do it. An intern can you believe that!"

Beckett did feel sorry for the couple. She could not imagine the thought of something going wrong with her twins when they were born. She was grateful to have two children who were born healthy and who were spared the expense and trauma of having to suffer through that.

Still she had to put her personal feelings aside for the moment as she had a job to do.

"I can't imagine how difficult this must be but I have to ask, where were you two between 7 and 10 PM on December 12th?"

"At home," said Pat.

"Can anyone voice for that?"

"My mother in-law and a friend's wife from work," he said. "Wait a second, you don't think we had anything to do with that do you?"

"I'm just asking questions."

Cynthia patted her husband's leg. "Let her do her job."

Pat stood, "No! After everything we've been through, you think you can just come in here and accuse us of something we had nothing to do with?"

"Mr. McConnell," Beckett said standing up too. "I didn't mean to offend you. I only want to find out what happened."

"Yeah we'll you're wasting your time here Detective. I'm glad she's dead so why don't you try to find the real killer because it sure as hell isn't either one of us."

* * *

_"That was harsh," Castle said a few hours later to Beckett as she stood in the break room getting her coffee._

_'You've seen people react that way, sometimes worse,' Beckett thought._

_"Sure but he was a little excessive."_

_'He's a father grieving for his child.'_

_"Do you think he did it?"_

_'I don't think so. Mr. McConnell was beyond angry but I think he was angry for reasons not pertinent to our case. His own malpractice suit is most likely to go down the drink unless he ends up suing someone else at the hospital but that doesn't seem likely considering the amount of money he's all ready spent on this one.'_

_"You may be right and you did check their alibi's which cleared so now we're back to where we started."_

Beckett took a sip of her coffee and then brought it down when Ryan and Esposito came into the room.

"Any luck on your suspects," Ryan asked.

"There's a lot of anger but they're not our killers," said Beckett, "What about you boys, anything on your end?"

Ryan smiled, "As a matter of fact we got plenty. While you were checking out female Dr. Moreno, we decided to check on male Dr. Moreno."

"Turns out as good of a professor as he was there were some students who did have a problem."

Beckett followed the boys to the white board. Fifteen names were on it along with their pictures.

"Meet the Anti-Bio 15," said Ryan, "Four boys, eleven girls from out of over two hundred twenty students."

"Anti-Bio 15," said Espo, "Seriously?"

"What you got something better?"

_"The Troubled 15," said Castle, "No the Fanless 15. No, damn it I hate to say it but Ryan's is better."_

Beckett hid her smile behind her hand. She recovered herself and then asked, "Okay so what is it about these fifteen that stick out?"

The board was numbered along with the names so they could keep track. Numbers one through eleven were the girls and twelve through fifteen were the boys.

"This is group 1: Numbers two, six, eight, nine, thirteen and fourteen were simply bored with the class," said Esposito as he circled the numbers in blue.

"Group 2: Three, eleven, and fifteen, hated the class," said Ryan circling the numbers in red.

"And lastly we have group 3: one, four, five, seven, ten, and twelve," said Espo, "Who are on the verge of failing the class. It isn't just any biology class, its zoology specifically," he said as he circled the numbers in black.

"Okay well I think we can eliminate group one," said Beckett, "Boredom isn't necessarily a valid reason to kill. Is there any way we can narrow down groups two and three?"

"We can cross off fifteen," said Ryan, "as well as four, five, and ten who were all at the library studying together."

"So we're left with five possible suspects," said Beckett. "I'll take them, I want you guys to look into anyone else who had a close personal connection, TA's, other professors, interns at the hospital, all of that."

"Leave no rock unturned," said Esposito, "Got it."

_'Let's go Castle, we've got our work cut out for us,' Beckett thought._

_"Sweet, I love this part!" Castle said getting excited._


	5. Broken Dreams

**Chapter 5.) Broken Dreams**

* * *

The next couple of days had been run on full force. The boys had excluded all possible on their end and Beckett was now down to two possible suspects of her own. The first of which, Grace Buckley, she had interviewed in the interview room.

Grace certainly had a possible motive and her whereabouts weren't counted for during the time of seven and ten p.m. when the Moreno's were murdered so Beckett was keeping the young college freshman on ice for a little bit until she could look into number twelve on the murder board, Chris Shelton.

* * *

Beckett and her boys were wearing their vests and had their guns out as they positioned themselves near the dorm room's door. Even Castle's apparition had his writer vest that Beckett had lain on his coffin.

Beckett pounded on the door, "NYPD open up!"

A young black kid opened the door. He was dressed only in his boxers with a tooth brush still in his mouth.

"A little late in the day to be getting ready isn't it," Esposito said.

"I'm getting ready for work," said Trenton, "What's going on?"

"Chris Shelton," said Beckett, "Where is he?"

"Do I look like his mother," said Trenton, "I don't know."

The detectives made their way into the apartment.

"Hey you can't do that!"

"Permission from your RA says we can," said Esposito.

"How well do you know your roommate," Ryan asked.

"Not well, the guy mainly keeps to himself."

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"Several days ago I guess, the guy seemed agitated like always."

"Agitated how," asked Ryan.

"I don't know man. He was really starting to stress out over finals, who doesn't. There was this one guy who he couldn't stand, Dr. Moor something."

"Dr. Moreno?"

"Yeah him, the guy said that dude was making his life a living hell and he was tired of it. The guy was off his meds if you know what I mean."

"Yo Beckett," Espo called out.

Beckett turned to see Espo holding a gun the same kind that was used on their victims.

_"Looks like we found the smoking gun," said Castle._

Espo smelled it. "Fired recently," he said.

"He's our guy," said Beckett.

Ryan turned to Trenton, "Do you have any idea where he is or where he would go?"

"The gym I guess, I've seen him there a few times. He likes to hit the weights or the punching bag whenever he's had a rough day."

"Ryan," said Beckett, "Stay here with the uni's and canvas the rest of the room. Esposito with me," she said. She also motioned to a couple other uniformed officers to follow her.

* * *

When they arrived at the weight room Chris, with his 5'10" height and a weight of 155 pounds, was laying on the bench press. There were a few others in the room, two guys and a girl, each doing their own workout routines. The uniforms quietly told them to leave the room.

Once the people were out Beckett cautioned, "Chris Shelton, get up slowly."

Chris wasn't listening. The music coming out of his headphones was blasting through his ears. Esposito made his way over to him, his gun never losing its target and with his left hand he took out the ear-bud from Chris' right ear.

"What the hell man!" Chris said as he turned over to see a gun pointed at his face.

"She told you to get up slowly," Esposito said to him.

Chris looked to the floor on his left side where a twenty five dumbbell rested. Beckett came forward, her gun also positioned on him.

"You really want to make this complicated," Beckett asked him.

* * *

"Here's what I can't figure out Chris," said Beckett as she and Esposito were in the interrogation room. Grace had been let go as soon as Ryan made a call to the precinct after they had arrested Shelton. "No past criminal record, you come from a descent home, even got in to Hudson on a wrestling scholarship."

"Which proves I couldn't have done what you're accusing me of," said Chris.

"See that's where you're wrong pal," said Esposito.

Beckett filled Chris in, "Your voice was recognized in the voice line up and we found the gun that you used on professor Moreno and his wife."

"Still doesn't prove it was me," said Chris, "My roommate used to be a gang banger did you know that? You found the gun in dorm but it doesn't prove it was mine."

"Wrong again pal," said Esposito.

"You're right though," said Beckett, "your roommate Trenton, he did have the exact same gun that was used on our victims. I bet you had figured if the gun was planted in your dorm then you would lead us to think it was him because unlike you, an upstanding guy, Trenton does come from a rough background but if you took the time to know him, he was on scholarship same as you. He did own a gun like yours however you failed to account for two things: one, we looked into Trenton's gun, want to know where we found it?"

"In the dorm?"

"Wrong," said Esposito, "It was securely locked up with DPS like all firearms are meant to be. He hadn't pulled it out since November when he last used it at the shooting range."

"And two," Beckett finished, "We compared the fingerprints on the gun to some finger prints found on a glass at the Moreno's home. They came back as a match to you."

Chris bit his lip and moved his body back and forth. He was starting to steam. "So what, why do I even care if I killed him or not? The guy was gonna flunk me for the third damn time! I couldn't fail again, no way. Do you have any idea what it's like to take the same class over and over and still fail it? And it's for a fucking basic class so there is no getting out until I pass it. At this rate I was going to be in school forever and forget about my damn scholarship. I was just so sick of being on probation because of a freakin' class I could never pass."

"Hate to break it to you but you want to know the worst part in all of this Chris?" Beckett said looking at the twenty-five year old man across from her. She handed him a file and opened it. "Is that you killed Dr. Moreno for nothing. You were going to pass his class with a 'D' but you just couldn't wait for your final grades could you?"

Beckett led herself out of the room. She always loved the satisfaction she had when her suspects began to realize their mistakes.

* * *

_'You ever get that desperate in college,' Beckett asked in thought._

_"Did I want to kill my professors sure, who hasn't?" Castle replied. "I even thought of several scenarios but it's always the scary ones who actually go through with it. You?"_

_'Oh absolutely.'_

_"What I don't get is why kill the wife? I mean if you're going to kill her too might as well kill the whole family."_

_'Castle.'_

_"Hey I'm just saying. He does a half ass job and doesn't kill the rest of the family in the house?"_

_'Maybe even Shelton has his lines that he doesn't cross.'_

_"A killer with a consciousness that would be a first I guess. Still why the wife?"_

_'What no theories?'_

_"You first."_

_'Fine, well here's a theory for you: Chris wanted to get into medical school but with his grades it seemed unlikely but he was so obsessed with that dream that he never gave up on it but that rage of failure clouded his judgment so when he saw his opportunity to kill Elian he thought killing Morena would be poetic justice because by killing her he was finally killing the future he would never have.'_

_"Why Mrs. Castle I certainly have rubbed off on you haven't I?"_

_Beckett just smiled, 'So what about you Rick, do you have any theories that are better?'_

_"Oh I've got an endless supply of theories. One of the upsides to being dead: my mind works so much better than it did when I was fully human. Want to give it a try?"_

_'You know as much as I'd love to join you in the afterlife I'd kind of like for our kids to have at least one parent around.'_

_"Fair enough."_

_"Well you know I'm always going to wait for you, however long it takes."_

_'You'd better because I'd haunt your ass till the end of the earth if you didn't.'_

_"Well it did take me over thirty years to find you so it's only fair."_

_'Do me a favor, shut up.'_

_"In all seriousness though I will wait for you. Always."_

_Beckett smiled. 'I know,' she replied._

_She then looked to the family room where Lena was waiting._

_"This is always the best part," said Castle._

_'Yeah it can be. It will never be easy for them.'_

_"But hey at least you can give Lena some closure and she can tell her younger siblings that the cops came through and caught the bad guy. Want me to go in with you?"_

_'I think I can handle this one, Castle.'_

_Castle nodded._

Beckett made her way inside, closing the door behind her so that she and Lena could have some privacy.


	6. You Take it Slowly

**Chapter 6.) You Take it Slowly**

* * *

Lena stood the second she saw Beckett enter the room. The two took their seats and Beckett began filling Lena in on the case and how she and her brother and sisters could finally sleep comfortably knowing that the man who had done it was finally caught. Lena had asked who the man was and Beckett explained that it was a student from her dad's class. This baffled Lena. She understood the pressure of college but for someone to go to such extremes was beyond her.

Once their conversation was over Lena stood up to leave and Beckett stood up as well.

"How do you handle it?" asked Lena, "There are some days I don't want to get out of bed at all and others when I feel so excited because I think they're coming home but they're not are they."

Beckett gave Lena a soft smile, "It isn't easy. You'll always have days like that. You just have to take it a day at a time. That's all any of us can do. They were your parents so that pain won't ever go away but there will come a time when it doesn't feel so overwhelming to deal with even during the sadness."

Lena smiled and then asked, "Do you have kids Detective Beckett," said Lena.

Beckett smiled, "I do, two girls and a boy."

Lena shook her head. "Sorry I forget who I'm talking to. You're Rick Castle's wife." She looked down for a second and then back at Beckett. "So you know what it's like then, to raise kids without another parent."

"You don't have to do this you know," said Beckett. "I think it's admirable but there are other options. I'm sure that your parents would understand."

"They probably would but I wouldn't. I can't just break up my family. We need each other. And Ty and I need to make this a perfect Christmas for our sisters even if our mom and dad aren't around. That's what they would want. Could you do that Detective, could you take away Christmas for your kids, even if they didn't have their parents around?"

Lena's words left Beckett in utter silence. It was so strange to be getting this kind of talk from a nineteen year old but despite the huge gap in age difference at the same time Beckett could see, as she had since she first met Lena that this was a woman who was like any other nineteen year old but who had a maturity that went beyond her years and would continue to flourish despite the tragedy that she and her siblings had faced.

"I guess not," Beckett conceded.

Lena nodded, "I should go. The girls are going to be getting out of school soon."

Beckett reached in her back pocket and handed her card to Lena. "If you need anything, day or night, feel free to call and I'll be there."

"Thanks Detective Beckett," said Lena, "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you too," said Beckett.

She watched as the woman made her way to the elevator and out of her precinct and for the first time in what had felt like a long while, Beckett smiled as a new thought entered her mind.


	7. Song For a Winter's Night

**Chapter 7.) Song for a Winter's Night**

* * *

"Grams, I got your call," Alexis said as she came into the loft.

She paused for a moment as she looked around the place. Boxes were everywhere and Christmas decorations were being hung. She looked to her Grams who then turned to look at Beckett.

"What's going on?" Alexis asked

"I had Martha call you," said Beckett as she came over to her step-daughter. "I wasn't sure if you wanted to hear from me. I thought maybe you'd like to help."

"But earlier you had said-."

"I was wrong Alexis. I thought by ignoring Christmas that it would be easier to move on with our lives…my life and that it would make it easier to deal with. It's our first Christmas without your dad and that was hard on me. It still is but you were right."

"No, I shouldn't have said those things, it wasn't fair to you. I'm sorry."

"Alexis it's okay. You told me what I needed to hear, you were right. Your dad loved this holiday. It will always mean something different to him than it does to me but how can we honor him if we box Christmas away forever? I did that with my mom, I don't want to do that with him and I owe it to you and to your brother and sister to make this a perfect Christmas for all of us even if Castle isn't around."

Alexis smiled at her step-mom. "Thank you. And I was wrong about one thing, when I said that you weren't my real mom. I love my mom but she's never been parent material the way you and my dad have been, she's always been more like the older fun sister or crazy aunt who drops in unannounced every once in a while. You're my mom too and my dad was right to chose you."

Beckett smiled and the two of them hugged.

"I love you Alexis."

"I love you too."

"Well," said Martha, "As much as I love this little reunion are we going to leave this house a mess or what?"

Beckett smiled at Alexis, "Let's get started."

"I'll make some hot chocolate," said Alexis.

"Double chocolate, double marshmallow," asked Beckett.

Alexis smiled, "Of course."

Martha went over to put on some Christmas music and began dancing around the living room. A few minutes later Alexis came over with the hot chocolate and gave one to Beckett. She then went upstairs after hearing the twins cry over the baby monitor.

"They just needed a changing," Alexis said a short time later as she cautiously came down with her brother and sister.

"And you took care of that," said Beckett.

"Are you kidding," said Alexis, "I've been on diaper duty since the two were born, when I can anyways. And plus it's only fair since you're the only one who can breast feed."

"True enough," said Beckett. "Thanks."

Beckett smiled at Joan and Jamie. She then took Jamie into her arms.

"Hey Jameson, wanna help mommy decorate the Christmas tree?"

Jamie reached out with his tiny right arm and touched the fern leaves on the tree. He quickly pulled back never having felt anything like it before. Joan mimicked her brother's move and Alexis walked over so she could touch the tree too. Unlike her scared little brother Joan laughed. She laughed even more when Alexis brought up a branch and tickled her neck.

"This reminds me, I'll be right back," Alexis said handing Joan over to their Grams.

Martha began swaying with the child in her arms. Jamie began touching the ornaments on the tree.

"I know," said Beckett, "Shiny."

When Alexis came back down she had two small boxes in her hand. They were both wrapped with Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer themed paper.

"I had these done after the twins were born," said Alexis. "They're meant to be opened before Christmas."

They all went to the couch where Martha and Beckett sat down with the twins in their laps.

Jamie tapped the box and Joan did the same thing.

"Okay," said Beckett. "Let's see what your big sister got the two of you."

Beckett opened one of the boxes and in it was a pink framed ornament with the words 'Baby's Christmas'. In the frame was a picture of her happily holding Johanna. What impressed her wasn't so much the picture but who else was in it: Castle. He was formed in a light blue color, ghost like, similar to the ghosts Beckett had seen in the Star Wars movies.

"We learned that technique in my technology class," Alexis explained.

Beckett couldn't speak. She opened the second box which was the same thing except in a blue frame and with her holding Jameson.

"Now dad will always be watching over them," Alexis said with a smile.

Beckett's eyes began to water as she smiled. "They're perfect Alexis, thank you."

Martha too was beginning to tear up.

Beckett knew that for the rest of their lives Joan and Jamie would have these ornaments and be reminded that their father loved them and that he was always watching over them even in his death.

"What do you say we put these on the tree," she said her voice cracking a little.

The family of five went over to the tree and found the perfect place for them. The twins were then passed off to Alexis and Martha and Beckett continued to decorate the tree, the music continuing on in the background.

Glancing around the loft to see the progress; they still had a lot to do, Beckett found her eyes lingering on the wedding photo of her and her husband.

She smiled and whispered, "Merry Christmas Castle."

* * *

**~END~**


End file.
